Warriors Will Rest, but Not Until the Playoffs

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Stephen Curry seems to have recovered from a recent cold spell.CreditEzra Shaw/Getty Images

By Scott Cacciola

March 26, 2016

OAKLAND, Calif. — Just a week ago, concern for Stephen Curry’s welfare among the general Bay Area populace swelled in the wake of two substandard performances. Against the San Antonio Spurs and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Curry shot 10 of 35 from the field and 3 of 21 from 3-point range. The basketball gods appeared to be asleep at the wheel.

Was he tired? Was he injured? Would Coach Steve Kerr rest him for a game or two, copying a late-season approach popularized by the Spurs?

Curry’s struggles turned out to be little more than a speed bump. If he was momentarily slowed by the grind of the season, by the weight of expectations, by a brief flirtation with acting human, he has returned to his usual fare: dizzying layups and parabolic 3-pointers, leaving the rest of the N.B.A. to dream of another two-game slump — someday, maybe.

“When we get the ball moving the way we do, execute and highlight the different talents we have in this locker room, good things happen,” Curry said.

No kidding. Curry was speaking at his locker Friday night after the Warriors outlasted the Dallas Mavericks, 128-120, at Oracle Arena. It was not Golden State’s most cohesive effort of the season — Kerr described his team’s defense as “horrific” — but none of that matters much when your team shoots 21 of 45 from 3-point range, or when Curry and Klay Thompson combine to collect 73 points, or when you outscore your opponent in transition by 47-1.

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Curry during Golden State’s home game against Dallas on Friday.CreditEzra Shaw/Getty Images

As other coaches of playoff-bound teams begin to sporadically rest their rotation players with less than a month left in the regular season, the Warriors (65-7) continue to push forward.

In addition to being adamant about holding off the Spurs for the top seed in the West, the Warriors have not shied away from their pursuit of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for the most regular-season wins in N.B.A. history. The Warriors must win eight of their final 10 games to break the record, starting Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers.

“We have a core group of guys that, if I asked them to skip a game, they wouldn’t be real thrilled with me right now,” Kerr said.

Kerr said that if the playoff schedule were more compressed, he might be more inclined to adopt the Spurs model. But as it stands, he has no reason to tweak his approach.

“The fact is, once the first round gets under way, it’s like days of rest,” he said.

Consider that during their championship run last season, the Warriors played their 21 playoff games over the course of 59 days. It obviously helped that they swept the New Orleans Pelicans in their first-round series, which gave them extra time off. But the Warriors would have had ample opportunity to recover regardless.

Now, compare that two-month marathon with what the team has endured in recent weeks. By the end of the regular season, they will have played their final 21 games in just 37 days. The point being, the Warriors will quite likely be more rested during the playoffs than they ever were during the regular season.

Kerr acknowledged that he would consider finding opportunities to sit veterans like Shaun Livingston, Andrew Bogut and Andre Iguodala — once Iguodala returns from an ankle sprain — in the coming weeks. As for Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green? That does not seem to be a part of the plan. Green flatly rejected the notion that he would take a night off.

The Spurs, on the other hand, have been a model of geriatric prudence for much of the last decade. On Friday, the Spurs announced that Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili would not play Saturday against the Oklahoma City Thunder or Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies. The reason? Rest.

Nothing that Coach Gregg Popovich does with the Spurs, Kerr said, has any effect on how he deals with his own team. Besides, Kerr said, the Spurs are older than the Warriors.

“But we’re very aware of our guys and how they feel,” Kerr said.

Kerr also alluded to a sense of public obligation, recalling how he sat Thompson and Curry for a road game against the Denver Nuggets last season. Many fans were not pleased.

“And I understood their frustration,” Kerr said. “So Steph presents a different problem than most mortals. It’s just — I think we’re in a good position there because Steph’s in really good shape. He doesn’t have anything bothering him.”

More than anything, Kerr said, Curry and the rest of the players simply need an occasional day to get away from the gym — which was why, ahead of Friday’s game, Kerr had planned to give them Saturday off to pursue outside interests. No practice. No meetings. No obligations.

“I think the next couple of days will be really good for our players to breathe some fresh air, go play some golf, go see a movie,” Kerr said. “Do something other than listen to me.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page SP7 of the New York edition with the headline: Warriors Will Kick Back, but Not Until the Playoffs . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe